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Loved the scene with the Power Loader; Cameron set it up fair and square, then managed to make me forget all about it until the critical instant. Nicely done.

But for the record, a very similar scene was in an Iron Man comic book years before ALIENS. (Issue #19, Tony in the old armor vs a rogue Life Model Decoy android in the new armor.) They'll never use it in an Iron Man sequel now, because everyone would go "Boo, ALIENS rip-off!" and that's really unfair.

Sure, now all you have to do is work around the fact that the human body isn't aerodynamic, that there's no space for fuel, and make a rocket engine fast enough to outrace a fighter jet, yet fit into a shoe. Sounds like a SMOP to me.

And we'll never be able to make a computer small enough to fit in a shirt pocket.Science-fiction is fiction based on science. It doesn't require actual, current technology, only theoretically possible technology.

Just because you think it's not possible with today's technology doesn't mean it'll never exist.

In any case, a rocket-jet-inside-a-shoe is still at least more believable than some guy being bitten by a spider who can then hold a tramway full of people with his bare hands.

In any case, a rocket-jet-inside-a-shoe is still at least more believable than some guy being bitten by a spider who can then hold a tramway full of people with his bare hands.

No. The rocket in a shoe violates conservation of mass and energy. There is no such thing as a reactionless thruster, and likely never will be unless the laws of physics are much different than we imagine them to be. A physical being the size of spider man holding up a tram full of people is at least physically possible.

As long as he stays in the atmosphere, it doesn't necessarily violate conservation of mass (I guess the air intakes are just improbably small and the compressor improbably effective). Energy is a different matter; that'd be one hell of a freaking battery he's got crammed up in there.

> unless the laws of physics are much different than we imagine them to be

The whole world is only what we imagine it to be. So, I think both spider-man and iron-man are equally possible. The only problem left is that it's damn hard to get out of this matrix, ya know, coz it's the only thing most of us have ever managed to consciously experience. But it is doable.

"Science-fiction is fiction based on science. It doesn't require actual, current technology, only theoretically possible technology."Then you please can tell us what's the theoretical possibility for some one hundred kilograms mass the form a human body to be pushed from their feet and be able to control it without any control surfaces -on the air? (do you know what happens with a back-traction car on a slipery road? Then think about the same on a 1000 times more slipery "road": the air).

The man inside the suit could never survive the forces the suit goes through during combat. I don't care how strong the material is, you run into to something at 100+ mph and important parts of your body become goo.

Guess what? It doesn't matter, it's an action comic book movie. All you need is consistency within the premise...and not being Emo.

Sure, now all you have to do is work around the fact that the human body isn't aerodynamic, that there's no space for fuel, and make a rocket engine fast enough to outrace a fighter jet, yet fit into a shoe. Sounds like a SMOP to me.

Actually it's not that improbable, just expensive. The human body is actually decently aerodynamic if the air is traveling from the head down to the feet. Yes, the human form won't function as a lifting body on its own but that's easily solved by adding some strategic fins and surfaces to a suit, perhaps ones that can be extended and collapsed at will.

Honestly though, you don't need to have lifting surfaces to fly, all you need is properly directed thrust. That takes energy and a lot of it. What you ne

We can't even get people to agree on a safe way to store hydrogen fuel. You think there the magnetic fields required to hold antimatter away from any regular matter and feed it consistently to some sort of thrust chamber are going to be easy not just technically, but politically?

"I got bitten by a mutant spider/got exposed to gamma ray/etc" crap that is usually associated with american super-heroes

That is not really the Science Fiction part of the story. It is just a plot forwarding device to explain how the person got the powers. Even Iron Man really isn't Sci-Fi they are more under "Modern Fanticy"

If you go back a couple dozen years it was outright impossible to build an engine capable of mach 2. We didn't have the science or technology to make it happen. It was maybe a glimmer in some technician's imagination, but that's it.

And before that we didn't even have the ability to fly at all.

Today we have cell phones with more processing power than an entire building full of computers a few years back.

We've got tiny motors in toys and gizmos that were also flat-out impossible a few years back.

Sure, by today's standards Iron Man is completely impossible, but that really doesn't mean much. I'm not claiming that such a thing will ever actually be possible... But claiming that our current understanding of science and technology is as good as it is ever going to get is awfully arrogant.

Well The Doctor was a character used to extend the plot, at least in the early seasons having a charactor who had limitations (suck in the sickbay, and 0 people skills). Foricing other people to expand their jobs as Medics, that was a good idea. But Resolving the final plot by the captian from the future giving them High Tech that lets them blast away the borg and armor that borg cant hit them really was just pushing it. The problem was whenever they were pushed in a spot in the plot that they can't poss

That is not really the Science Fiction part of the story. It is just a plot forwarding device to explain how the person got the powers. Even Iron Man really isn't Sci-Fi they are more under "Modern Fanticy" (sic)

Iron Man is neither Sci-Fi, nor "Modern Fantasy"... it is what it always has been... a comic book hero. Making film adaptations of this necessarily involves accepting that in the Marvel Universe, the rules are ever so slightly different. They include the possibility of these things happening.

The other day I was watching the Sarah Brightman and Hot Gossip video "I Lost My Heart to A Starship Trooper" [youtube.com] (greatest video ever!) with my younger brother, and she gets to the line "...and evil darth Vader he's been banished to Mars."

Well, my brother pointed out, "Um, excuse me, Star Wars takes place long, long ago in a galaxy far away. Exactly how would Darth Vader get to earth's Solar System to be 'banished to Mars?'"

after watching spiderman, i was so psyched. I went right home, caught a spider, microwaved it for a few seconds to mutate its DNA a little bit, then I took it out and let it bite me.
and guess what?
No superpowers

You think that's bad? I wanted mutant superpowers like my hero, The Tick, but instead I just got Lyme disease.

I always found the lesson Spiderman teaches a little weird; if you get bitten by a spider and start stumbling around and seeing everything blurred don't tell a soul, pretend like nothing happened, and go up to your room to sleep.

You didn't use the right kind of spider! You need a spider that already has some serious mojo that can be enhanced by the radiation.

I used a Brown Recluse. After a couple seconds of microwave enhancement, I let it bit me. And damned if I didn't develop a bad-ass super power:

Necrotic Lesions.

Sure, sure, doesn't sound like much. But you just have to be creative. Normally I keep them covered up, but when I'm say getting the jump on some bank robbers, I just expose my hideous gaping wounds and dead flesh, and they toss their cookies giving me ample time to shoot them or whatever. It's awesome. Everyone should get super powers like mine.

No, no, you need ionizing radiation. Put an operating air ionizer in the microwave with the spider next time. You may have to drill a hole in the side of the microwave to feed the power cable through, but it's totally worth it. *fwip fwip*

For once, it looks to be at least within the realm of possible science...Oh, and none of the "I got bitten by a mutant spider/got exposed to gamma ray/etc" crap that is usually associated with american super-heroes.

Of course, there are somewhat realistic aspects of the suit, but there are still problems. Notably, how are you going to generate power, how do you make something that sleek-looking also structurally sound enough to pull off the stunts he pulls, and how are you going to actually fly that suit.

Realism aside, there's another good thing about Iron Man. He got his powers on purpose. He wasn't accidently bitten by a spider, and he didn't go into space with crappy shielding. He built his armor. He really IS a self-made superhero.

Oh, and none of the "I got bitten by a mutant spider/got exposed to gamma ray/etc" crap that is usually associated with american super-heroes.

There is nothing wrong with a deus-ex-machina origin. What I think you're confusing is science fiction and modern fantasy with science themes. That's OK, most everyone does. Modern fantasy is a completely separate genre from science fiction, but because the two are conflated so often it can be hard to accept fantasy themes. This becomes more obvious when you look back at the modern fantasy of previous generations or even centuries. There was a time when the reason that steel weapons took a central role in

Oh, and none of the "I got bitten by a mutant spider/got exposed to gamma ray/etc" crap that is usually associated with american super-heroes.

"American super-heroes" is a redundant phrase unless you're going to tell me you're THAT big a fan of Ultraman. And the most iconic superheroes (Supes and Bats) don't fall into the 1960s "I am Stan Lee and I can't think of anything except radiation origins" bunch. You're just thinking the last few Marvel movies - Spiderman, Hulk, FF - since they do all have radiation origins which is indeed lame but whatever since with a name like the "Fantastic Four" you're guaranteed lame already.

Apart from the science reality, I'm more impressed with how close (at least from what I've seen) Iron Man sticks to the comic. It isn't set in WWII but that was a decision whoever directed/wrote/produced it made to appeal to the audience today. I'm not sure if I'll actually go see it but at least Uwe Boll didn't direct it.

Apart from the science reality, I'm more impressed with how close (at least from what I've seen) Iron Man sticks to the comic. It isn't set in WWII but that was a decision whoever directed/wrote/produced it made to appeal to the audience today. I'm not sure if I'll actually go see it but at least Uwe Boll didn't direct it.

I'm really excited about this one. I think it has the potential to actually be another really good comic-franchise.

Start out with good, well established material, treat it with respect a

It's nice that Stuart Ross thinks he can develop rocketbelts to enable people to fly. However, until someone comes up with a way to store the, apparently, unlimited fuel necessary to power a suit such as Iron Mans, and have it weigh, again, apparently, next to nothing, we will never see flying suits of armor.

Forget for a moment that a large percentage of people can't safely drive a vehicle on the ground at 65 mph. We now want to develop suits of metal capable of flying hundreds of miles per hour (Iron Man can out run jets and other craft)?

Then there is all his armament that he carries within the suit. How many rounds of ammunition, not to mention various missiles and such, is he carrying? Yeah, I thought so.

Yeah, yeah, I realize this is all fantasy and it makes for good enjoyment. But let's not get ahead of ourselves and try to claim that everything developed in a fantasy environment is directly translatable to real life.

Super-duper computers capable of interacting with humans? Sure. It will take some time but it is feasible and most likely probable. New uber-compounds which can retain their shape or make repairs to themselves? Already happening. Suits of armor capable of flying hundreds of miles per hour? Not gonna happen.

On a side note, is it just me or do Downey's whoops and hollers sound flat? I realize he wasn't actually flying but his yelling just doesn't seem, to me, to be indicative of someone who's flying in a suit of armor.

Forget for a moment that a large percentage of people can't safely drive a vehicle on the ground at 65 mph.no. That would be a small percentage. Millions and millions of people driving over 2000 billion miles accident free every day.

It's true that it's all rather far-fetched, but the best SF (in my oh-so-humble opinion) is always an incredible extrapolation from existing technology, and the article does a good job of demonstrating how that's true of Iron Man.

Right. He develops a new tiny power source that produces megawatts. Out of scrap.

If he developed a new power source that good, commercializing it would put the oil states out of business. Success is the best revenge.

"My grandfather rode a camel, my father rode a camel, I drive a Mercedes, my son drives a Land Rover, his son will drive a Land Rover, but his son will ride a camel." Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum (Dubai) 1912-1990.

What's with these thinly-veiled blockbuster release promotions in "legitimate" media? Seems like every time a new blockbuster comes out, science shows start doing their "The science of..." specials on the figments of a comic book writer's imagination.

What saddens me more is that these "the science of" things are often not about science but about technology, thus making the general people even more confused about science (equating it to "Gyro Gearloose science", that is, merely a means of coming up with new tech).

What's with these thinly-veiled blockbuster release promotions in "legitimate" media? Seems like every time a new blockbuster comes out, science shows start doing their "The science of..." specials on the figments of a comic book writer's imagination.

Sadly, the same thing that drives all forms of media: the hope that someone will watch/listen/read.

Since there is a lot of hype over the movie, if you can capitalize on it, you get to ride the train and get people to tune into you.

Tony Stark's amazing suit is a long way from realization, mostly due to practical energy constraints.

As a comic book fan and physics professor, I am looking forward to the big screen debut of Iron Man. This is due, in part, to the fact that instead of getting belted with gamma rays or being born a demon from hell, industrialist and scientist Tony Stark got his super powers by means of his engineering genius.

But just how realistic is Stark's amazing suit?

Sadly, nearly all of the features of the Iron Man suit, with one important exception, are not likely to be realized anytime soon. Let's look at each of the suit's major elements in turn.

Jet boots

The reason that we don't fly to work using boot-mounted jets as Iron Man does has nothing to do with technology and everything to do with energy. We know how to achieve thrust and propulsion using personal jet packs, and a person can indeed fly from home to their place of employment like Buck Rogers or Adam Strange -- provided they live 30 seconds from work.

The problem is that lifting a full-grown person 100 feet into the air considerably increases their potential energy, and that gain in energy must come from the stored chemical energy in the jet pack. Ditto for the energy required to zip around once airborne. You just can't store enough energy to make long flights without making the suit too big to wear. So jet boots alone don't make Iron Man an escapist fantasy, but the idea that Stark could store enough energy in his suit to fly for more than half a minute does.

Repulsor rays

Similarly, the directed energy weapons Iron Man uses, such as the "repulsor rays" built into the palms of his gloves, should require that Stark drag along a large power generator whenever he faces off against the Mandarin or Titanium Man. I'm not exactly sure what a "repulsor ray" is, but if it's anything like a high-power laser, then the energy demands are considerable.

Even assuming that Iron Man can convert any stored energy in his suit into laser light with 100 percent efficiency, then to generate a beam powerful enough to melt a fist-size hole through a half-inch thick steel plate (which any comic book fan can tell you is well within Shellhead's capabilities) would require an energy pulse of more than 2 gigawatts of power, greater than the output of a nuclear power plant.

Cybernetic helmet

There is one aspect of Iron Man's armor that is not only scientifically sound, but may be available for our use someday soon: the "cybernetic helmet" Tony Stark uses to control the devices within his armor. When Iron Man wants to discharge his palm-mounted repulsor rays, he does not have to manually release a safety switch, enter a firing sequence code or even pull a trigger -- he just tells the supervillain to "talk to the hand" and fires!

In fact, Bin He of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Minnesota [umn.edu] has already created a helmet much like Iron Man's. It works on the principle that neurons' electrical currents create electric and magnetic fields, which can be detected with devices such as the electroencephalograph, or EEG. While the EEG has been around since the 1920s, recent advances in signal processing have enabled scientists to isolate and identify the firing signatures of neurons associated with particular motor-imagery tasks.

Professor He identified the specific firing pattern that arises when a person, watching images on a computer monitor, tries to mentally move a cursor to the left or right. These detected frequencies can then be amplified and, when suitably modified, can instruct the computer to move the cursor in the same direction.

Too bad it doesn't look like it'd be practical in the real world, but if it could be... a nuclear isomer [wikipedia.org] power source would just about fit the bill. "One gram of pure Hf-178-m2 contains approximately 1330 megajoules of energy, the equivalent of exploding about 317 kilograms (700 pounds) of TNT." However, it doesn't look like one can induce the isomers to relax on cue.

Hydrogen peroxide powered rocket packs fly for around 30 seconds, because they have a specific impulse of around 125, meaning that one pound of propellant can make 125 pound-seconds of thrust, meaning that it takes about two pounds of propellant for every second you are in the air. Mass ratios are low for anything strapped to a human, so the exponential nature of the rocket equation can be safely ignored.A pretty hot (both literally and figuratively) bipropellant rocket could manage about twice the specifi

Here [popsci.com]. I don't know if the article is yet open the public, I subscribe to the magazine so I have full access to the article. But none the less it gives a minor history of exoskeletons and expectations of them. One of popsci's better articles.

Uh, I don't care if the suit has the ability to not be destroyed by the impact of the rocket, the kinetic energy from the explosion is still going to be transferred. My understanding of how highly explosive things work is that the explosion is part of it but it's the shock wave that really screws things up, and does any sort of technology exist to mitigate shock wave damage?

I'm told that the Iron Man suit in the comics has inertial dampening or acceleration compensators or whatever techno-babble name to keep him from being turned into raspberry jam. He still would have been killed when he tested out the flying boots for the first time when it was just his fleshy frame crashing against the wall. And if there are acceleration compensators, he's just invented antigravity.I love love love the idea of super-suits, been in love with them since I first saw the Greatest American Hero

... of someone in Hollywood perfecting the science of making a movie that doesn't suck? Honestly, apart from Gwyneth Paltrow, there's very little in there that's worth watching. Tony Stark is just a whiny, selfish shit in copper-coloured-kecks.

The superhuman stength without giant external components, flying with pulse jets small enough to go in your feet, and infinite shock-absorbing ability are all the most useful skills, and coincidentally all the ones still far from possible with todays tech, so I think its not really true to say the science and tech of Ironman is pretty solid.

Well, I disagree in two ways.One is that the current implementations being "sometimes-acceptable" means they don't count as a "proof of concept". Actually I think that's exactly what it means, same as muscle-enhancing exoskeletal body armor is very much in a "proof of concept" stage, and not actually usable in real-world deployments yet.

Second is that to actually improve the translation to the point where it is accurate requires a hard AI. Surely translation algorithms, enhanced with knowledge of colloqui

Bullshit. This is an AI hard problem; if you've got real, honest-to-god accurate real-time translation of a natural language, you've got an AI. What we have now is sometimes-acceptable real-time translation using corpora whose product is easily distinguishable by any native speaker as a machine translation.